Contents

Appearance

DemonDemon | HumanHuman

Jiemma as a Demon

Jiemma's full-body appearance in his previous human form

Jiemma is a tall, elderly man distinguished by his massive, extremely muscular physique, untarnished despite his advanced age. The man has long light hair which is tidily gathered on the back of his head and tied in a braid, which reaches down below his middle back, and is secured near its end in a large tuft;[3] the thick beard and mustache covering Jiemma's lower face, linked to his hair by the Master's sideburns, are untamed, with several spiky strands jutting outwards from the latter one. He has marked facial features and a long, massive and mildly rounded nose. His sunken eyes, topped by light and bushy eyebrows, are very distinctive, being almost completely white, as if they lacked pupils, and has a black underlining around his lower eyelid; something which gives him an otherworldly look. Jiemma's small, dark Sabertooth mark is located in the center of his high, mildly wrinkled forehead. During his introduction, Jiemma was portrayed as having a very hairy chest, with his torso and abdominals sporting spiky hair in a shape reminiscent of a cross;[4] this, however, wasn't present in his subsequent appearances.[5]

Jiemma's outfit is Eastern in look: he wears a short, mildly loose and dark kimono with light edges and cuffs, secured around his waist by a light sash tied on the front with a simple knot, whose right side is casually left hanging over the side of Jiemma's corresponding leg, revealing part of the man's muscular torso. While the right part of the garment is sometimes worn normally, with Sabertooth's Master keeping his left arm in the sleeve, Jiemma has also been seen resting such arm in the front part of his kimono, casually hanging from it, and thus leaving the other sleeve hanging from his left shoulder hollow. His legs are covered by a very loose pair of light pants, which on the front of each leg bears a vertical line composed of many dark rhombs joined together and lined up. For footwear, Jiemma dons a simple pair of sandals,[6] (black shoes in the anime) and his forearms are wrapped in light bandages. Circling the Master's massive neck is a necklace composed of many large, dark spheres, reminiscent of an over sized series of Buddhist prayer beads, and topping his head is a light headgear similar to an Eastern crown, with many vertical sections with pyramid-shaped tops surrounding a massive, central semicircle jutting upwards from it.[4] All in all, his appearance resembles that of the mythical Tengu.

After joining Tartarus and undergoing a demonic transformation, Jiemma additionally sports large elf-like ears and now has his hair and beard extremely jutting out. He also dons a decorative tattoo-like design that is heavily concentrated on the left side of his torso and slightly spread throughout the rest of his body.[7]

Personality

Jiemma's reaction to his guild's loss

Jiemma is very strict in his beliefs. He firmly believes that Sabertooth is the strongest guild in Fiore and wishes it to remain that way. He has no sympathy for weaklings and will not hesitate to remove them. When Yukino Aguria lost a match in the Grand Magic Games, he forced her to strip down in public, remove her guild mark, and leave the guild. He also does not seem to care much for his subordinates that fail to meet his expectations as he constantly called Yukino "trash" after she lost her match.[8] Even Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, despite their fame, power, and numerous victories prior, were "trash" in Jiemma's eyes and were ordered to erase their Guild Marks after their single-handed defeat by Natsu.[9]

Jiemma has also demonstrated an extreme level of loathing towards animals and cares very little for them, as seen when he "killed" Lector without remorse, thinking nothing of it, even going as far as to claim afterwards that the guild had lost nothing, acting insulted at the very thought of animals in Sabertooth. He couldn't fathom why Sting would even be sad over the death of an animal. His hatred towards animals has even caused him to become oblivious of their presence in his guild, as seen when Jiemma asked Lector who he is, as if he had only just seen Lector for the first time.[10]

Jiemma's obsession with power far overcomes his affection for his daughter, Minerva, answering to her inability to continue with her training with extreme cruelty. As someone who hates weakness, he used to verbally and physically abuse her whenever she cried, begged for forgiveness or followed other behaviors he labelled as "weak", going as far as beating her or forcing her to strip.[11]

History

Not much is known about Jiemma's past, except that he used to train his daughter, Minerva, himself, going as far as to beat her whenever she couldn't keep up with his training, or even forcing her to strip and find her way back home from the forest all by herself.[11]

Synopsis

Grand Magic Games arc

Jiemma gathers his guild for the excommunication of Yukino

After Yukino loses her match, Jiemma along with quite a few other members of Sabertooth assemble in the hotel where the Sabertooth members lodge in Crocus. Jiemma is extremely angry at the fact that Yukino lost in her battle with Kagura in the Grand Magic Games while betting her, by Kagura then pitied, life on the match. Jiemma throws grapes at Yukino, and tells her to strip off her clothes, remove her guild mark, and subsequently excommunicates her from the guild.[8]

Later that night, Natsu Dragneel invades the Sabertooth lodgings, having learned of what he did to Yukino. When Jiemma answers to his demands to see him, Natsu scolds him for his behavior and asks Jiemma whether he too will be kicked out if he loses to him.[12] Jiemma orders Dobengal to fight Natsu, but the Sabertooth Mage is quickly defeated. Afterwards, Jiemma begins to clash with Natsu. However, the battle is soon interrupted by the arrival of Jiemma's daughter, Minerva Orlando, making him surprised to see her return. Minerva reveals that she captured Happy, and Natsu decides to leave with Happy. As Natsu walks away, Jiemma comments on the young Dragon Slayer's fortitude.[13]

The crowd runs from Jiemma's anger

Before the fourth day's third tag battle begins, Jiemma tells Sting and Rogue to make their victory overwhelming and to show them the power of the strongest guild.[14] When Sting and Rogue activate White Drive and Shadow Drive, Jiemma states that the battle will soon be over, calling Fairy Tail a garbage guild.[15] Following Sting and Rogue's defeat, Jiemma begins to boil with rage seeing two of his top Mages taken out by one Fairy Tail member. Unable to contain his fury, Jiemma pulls a terrifyingly angry expression, which doesn't go unnoticed by those sitting in the crowd around him. Becoming scared, the spectators flee in every direction, leaving Jiemma alone to seethe.[16]

Jiemma is attacked by Sting

That night, in the Sabertooth lodgings, an outraged Jiemma bellows at Sting and Rogue for their defeat, beating them and saying that they must undergo excommunication. A scared Lector attempts to reason with him but Jiemma does not recognize the Exceed. Upon learning that he is also from Sabertooth, Jiemma, enraged at the thought of a weak cat being part of his guild, tells him to vanish, attacking him with a devastating blast. Outraged, yet also heartbroken, Sting suddenly attacks Jiemma, blasting him with a powerful White Dragon's Punch, creating a large hole through his torso.[17]

As he lies on the floor, fatally wounded, he angrily warns Sting that he won't get away with this. He is surprised when Minerva nonchalantly tells Sting that he should become the new master now that he has demonstrated that his powers are superior to Jiemma's. When Jiemma asks his daughter what she's doing, she calls him a weak loser and orders him to shut up, reminding him of his "no weaklings are allowed in Sabertooth" policy.[18]

It was later revealed by Sting that Jiemma survived his wounds, fleeing Sabertooth with his daughter, Minerva.[19]

Tartarus arc

Just when Gray Fullbuster is about to finish Mard Geer off, Jiemma interferes by taking the hit for the King of Hades and sending Gray flying back. Now a Demon, he refuses the accusations that he was forcefully turned into one much like his daughter and explains that he voluntarily chose this power, to become even stronger. However, when Mard Geer calls him his strongest servant, Jiemma tells him to not misunderstand, and that after he finishes off the Mages, it will be his turn. He then easily blasts Natsu away and turns to Sting and Rogue, explaining them that he has been longing to defeat them for a long time, before proceeding to hit their heads together. Sting and Rogue, however, fight back, promising that they will defeat him, and Jiemma urges them to fight him.[20]

Jiemma is defeated

When Sting asks Jiemma whether he's responsible for Minerva's demonification, Jiemma proceeds to call her useless, since she didn't put to good use the power granted to her. He angers the two after explaining that his daughter was only a tool for him, but their powers leave Jiemma unaffected. He then attacks the two, before mocking them for turning Sabertooth from the strongest guild to a guild of weaklings. When the Twin Dragons tell him that Sabertooth cannot become strong unless its former Master disappears, Jiemma laughs at them, saying that strength lies in each individual rather than a team of people which, according to him, is the epitome of weakness. Jiemma, furious to hear his former guild members' version of strength, doesn't manage to defeat them, however, as their combined powers prove superior and Jiemma falls defeated to the ground.[21] Jiemma lies unconscious when the fight between Natsu, Gray and Mard Geer takes place close to him.[22][23]

Magic and Abilities

Jiemma generates an explosion

Blast Magic: Jiemma has shown the ability to generate explosions in places which can be several meters from him, something which is achieved by moving one of his open hands towards the area he wants to detonate. He could create an explosion right in front of himself to injure Sting.[24] After targeting Lector, who was transported away by Minerva's Territory before he could be harmed,[25] Sabertooth's Master believed the Exceed to have been killed and completely pulverized when he no longer saw him in the spot he'd struck,[26] hinting at the danger this technique poses, at least to small beings.

Jiemma releasing a shockwave

Shockwaves: Jiemma is capable of producing shockwaves of varying intensity from his person without the need to perform any gesture or assume any particular stance. These can apparently be used continuously over short periods of time, as shown from Jiemma assaulting Natsu Dragneel with what looked like a gust of wind, slowly pushing him away from Sabertooth's Master as seconds passed despite the Fairy Tail Mage eventually overwhelming it.[27] Jiemma's shockwaves are strong enough to knock two Dragon Slayers, Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, off their feet[28] and push back Natsu with great force.[29]

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Jiemma has shown great skill in unarmed combat. His style is brutal one, revolving around overpowering his opponents by using his great physical strength. His skill allowed him to fight on par with and, at times, overwhelm Sting and Rogue simultaneously.[30] He was capable of sending Sting into the ground with a powerful chop[31] and blocking the Dragon Slayers' blows with his arms.[32]

Jiemma withstanding Natsu's blow

Enhanced Strength: Incredibly massive and bulky despite his apparently advanced age, Jiemma appears to possess a large amount of physical strength: he was able to block a punch from someone as strong as Natsu Dragneel with a single forearm with ease, and this in spite of the blow coming enhanced with Natsu's signature Fire Dragon Slayer Magic further boosting its power.[33] After his transformation into a Demon, Jiemma was capable of breaking solid rock with ease. [34]

Enhanced Durability: Jiemma's age doesn't seem to hinder him in terms of physical might: Sabertooth's Master is shown to be very durable, being capable of undergoing a barrage of fire-enhanced melee blows from the Dragon Slayer Natsu Dragneel, which had him struck a number of times with great force in mere seconds, without showing any visible sign of injury afterwards.[35] Despite this, he was severely injured when Sting struck him out of rage.[36] Following his transformation into a Demon, Jiemma was unaffected by Sting's punch that was enhanced by White Dragon Slayer Magic, noting that the blow did not even leave a scratch.[37]

Relationships

Relationships

As he was one of the five Mages who made Sabertooth stronger due to their recruitment[38], Jiemma valued Sting for his power and abilities which helped the Sabertooth Guild become the top guild in Fiore by bringing them victory multiple times in the Grand Magic Games. Alongside his partner Rogue Cheney, the two were known as the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth and were considered highly powerful by many people, including Fiore's King who considered them among the best participants in the games of that year.[39]

Jiemma gives Sting a second chance

It is this strength in Sting, as well as his previous accomplishment which caused Jiemma to give Sting a second chance as a member of Sabertooth even after a pitiful performance during the Chariot event in the Grand Magic Games, a chance he did not extend to Yukino Aguria.[40] Ultimately, however, this was the limit of Jiemma's forgiveness as, subsequent to Sting's humiliating loss against Natsu Dragneel on the fourth day of the games, Jiemma proceeded to blow Sting, as well as Rogue, away by emitting his powerful Magic aura, telling the two of them they were not worthy of being members of Sabertooth, kicking Sting in the stomach and telling him to remove his guild mark as he fully intended on kicking him out of the guild, no longer willing to put up with him despite what he had done for the guild in the past.[41] Going as far to kill Sting's Exceed partner Lector, Jiemma subsequently brought about his own downfall as he did this, even telling a grieving Sting that he was "noisy", as Sting angrily rose up and struck down Jiemma in a fit of rage.[42]

Jiemma was very harsh on Yukino during the young Mage's short tenure with the Sabertooth Guild, as proven during his interactions with her following her loss to Kagura Mikazuchi. He was furious at the fact that she wagered her life to her opponent and subsequently lost, moreover being pitied and left to live, thereby damaging the reputation of Sabertooth even if only by a small margin; such an event angered Jiemma enough where he threw grapes at her. Jiemma readily punished Yukino for her humiliating loss by commanding her to strip naked, before him and everyone in the guild, and then to erase her Guild Mark, therefore excommunicating her. Moreover, despite her tearful thank you for being a Mage of Sabertooth, he told her to leave his sight as he did not want to see such "trash".[43]

As father and daughter,[44] Jiemma and Minerva were amicable with one during occasional interactions while both were still in the Sabertooth Guild.[45] They even shared a similar belief about power within Sabertooth; both felt that, as the then-strongest guild in the country, it is not fit for weaklings.[46]

Minerva's reaction to Jiemma's fatal injury

Ironically, it was in this same belief that resulted in a very heavy rift in the family's relationship. Despite their earlier interactions, as well as the familial bonds between them, Jiemma's fatal injury at the hands of Sting Eucliffe was of no real concern to Minerva who even applauded Sting afterwards for putting an end to Jiemma's "reign of terror"; nonetheless, Minerva showed genuine surprise at what had occurred, though without as much genuine shock like the rest of her guildmates. Such a callous move from Minerva shocked Jiemma especially after she cruelly reminded him of his policy on weakness, something he made an example of himself in that very moment.[47][48]
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